Best Christmas Gift For Kids Is Alcohol Free Parents

Writen by Eva Fry

We look forward to the happiness Christmas brings, but not every home will be happy this year. This time of "good cheer" is often spoiled by a glass of "good cheer." An alcoholic drink, consumed by a loved one, is often the reason for misery, not joy.

When I was a speaker for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, I spoke to an elementary class in Escondido California. After I spoke to the class, I received the following letter from a 9-year-old girl.

Dear Mrs. Fry

Thank you for volunteering to come to our class. You have really helped me understand that drinking is very bad and it makes you do really bad things and I would never like to die and leave my family. I really did like my dad, but one day my dad went to get a hair cut at my uncle's house and he was walking back home because we were going to get ice cream and when he was coming back a drunk driver ran him over and he died and now I don't have a dad and I really do miss him. I wish he did not die.

Your friend,

At the end of her letter she drew a picture of a car and a man lying on the ground.

The letter touched me deeply. I felt the hurt in this little girl's life. I wondered how many more dear children, like her, would lose a parent or loved one because someone decided to drink alcohol, and didn't think of the consequences? How many more will have their lives shattered?

It is time we woke up to how our drinking habits affect others. If we're not a part of the solution we are a part of the problem. Your social drink could be the reason your child becomes an alcoholic or a drunk driver. You could become the alcoholic or drunk driver! It's not cool to drink alcohol!

Forty years ago smoking was considered cool, too. I remember watching James Dean with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, in the movie, Rebel Without a Cause. We teenagers thought smoking was cool and so most of us chose to smoke, just like many of our young people are doing today. What has been the result? Thousands lost their lives to the cool habit. Many more are still smoking with horrific lives, because of what tobacco has done to their bodies, and to their freedom.

Cool? I don't think so!

Are we going to let alcohol have the same disastrous affect on our young people that smoking cigarettes did to the young people of long ago?

It's time we had a stop drinking campaign! Its time, we as adults took on the responsibility of being responsible and choose not to drink at all, for the sake of our children.

I especially appeal to you mothers. You have the most influence on you family.

This year lets give our kids a smart and wonderful Christmas gift, "the gift of alcohol-free parents!"

I don't want any more letters from children like this one.

Here Comes Another Online Shopping Season

Writen by Jennifer Jeffrey

It's online shopping time again.

"We're ready," says Mike Fletcher, who runs the Online Christian Shopper clothing and jewelry site. "We started seeing sales increase about the first of November but there's always this huge rush that occurs the Monday after Thanksgiving."

Online retailers call it "Cyber Monday."

According to Fletcher, most of the business comes in around 9 am on Cyber Monday, then again between noon and 1pm, with a slightly smaller spike after 7pm.

"The morning rush is when people first log on to their computers when they go to work," he said. "Then they shop during lunch, eating at their desks. And then a little bit after dinner at home. But most of the business comes in during the workday."

Why Monday? According to Fletcher, most shoppers are fed up with long lines and jammed parking lots at the mall. "Shopping with a mouse is a lot easier than dragging some exhausted kids through a crowded mall," he says.

The Online Christian Shopper site specializes in religious-themed clothing and jewelry. Big sellers that Fletcher notices this year are hoodies, or long-sleeved hooded sweatshirts. "They've become incredibly popular," he says. "Hoodies are warm enough to wear in place of a jacket in many places of the country and and because they're emblazoned with a meaningful statement to the wearer - in our case, religious - they become a personal fashion statment."

Here are Fletcher's top five tips for online shoppers:

1) Shop early - While the selection of goods is much better online, just like brick and mortar stores, some items sell out or are on backorder. The early bird gets the hoodie.

2) Allow time for delivery - While most online orders ship soon after they are ordered, delivery services and the postal carriers have a lot of packages to deliver during the holiday rush. Some orders take 7 to 10 days to arrive during this busy time of the year.

3) Look for free shipping. That's a big trend this year among online retailers. Online Christian Shopper, for example, offers free shipping on orders over $99. That's usually a significant savings.

4) Be sure of sizes. Most online stores offer sizing charts. You don't want to get an item only to find it doesn't fit and needs to be returned. So before clicking the order button, find out the size your giftee wears.

5) Look for bargain items. Many online retailers have ordered extra and specially priced items for the Christimas season. Spend some time looking around each categorty of the Web store and you can usually find some really good bargains.

Those tips, Fletcher points out, can make your holiday shopping a breeze by guaranteeing that your gifts are received on time and are the right size and - best of all - saving you the hassle of standing in line at the mall.

The author works with Online Christian Shopper.com (http://www.onlinechristianshopper.com) an e-commerce site for Christian clothing and jewelry, and FaithfulChristian.com (http://faithfulchristian.com), a resource site about lifestyle evangelism.

Regional Celebrations Of Diwali

Writen by Rukmini Guggilla

The celebrations of Diwali differ from region to region. There are many legends associated with Diwali and its celebrations. In Northern and Western regions of India, Diwali is celebrated to mark the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after defeating and killing the demon king Ravana. In Eastern states, Diwali is associated with the story of Narakasura, who had become a menace to people. He is killed by Lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama.

In Maharashtra and Mysore, Diwali is associated with King Bali. He was very popular with his subjects for his generosity. His popularity could not be endured by gods as he was an asura. They went to Lord Vishnu and beseeched him to cut Bali down to size. Upon the request of gods, Lord Vishnu went to King Bali in the guise of Vamana, a diminutive Brahmin, and requested the king to give him land equal to three steps. The generous king agreed. Then Lord Vishnu occupied earth with one step and heaven with the second step. He then asked King Bali where he should put his third step. Bali agreed to take the third step on his head. Thus Lord Vishnu pushed Bali to the underland. But, he gave him the lamp of knowledge and allowed him to come up once a year and light lamps to dispel darkness and spread the light of wisdom. From that time onwards, people have been celebrating his arrival on Bali Padyami.

In Bengal, people celebrate Diwali as part of Kali puja. Kali is another form of Durga, the most powerful goddess. Goddess Kali pierces darkness with her strength. In North and South, people light earthen lamps on the occasion of Diwali. In the South, people light earthen lamps also on the day of Karthika poornima (full moon day), which falls a fortnight later. The lights are meant to welcome Goddess Lakshmi to the households, which would result in prosperity. It is believed that the fireworks would scare away evil spirits.

In Punjab, the day following Diwali is called Tikka. On this day, sisters prepare a paste with saffron and rice and place it on their brothers' foreheads to ward off all evil. People in Maharashtra exchange gifts on the second day of Kartika. There, on Trayodasi, the thirteenth day, a festival honouring a prince taken away by Yama, the god of death, is observed. The prince's life was taken away four days after his marriage. Out of compassion for the departed youth, Yama assured that those who observed the day would not be subjected to untimely death. For this reason, the lamps lighted to commemorate the occasion are positioned facing the south, because southern direction is specified for Lord Yama.

Diwali is celebrated not only in India, but also in many other countries. With more and more Indians migrating to other countries, Diwali is being celebrated as a major festival across the globe. Diwali is celebrated in countries such as the US, Britain, Suriname, Canada, Fiji, Australia, Mauritius, Malaysia, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, Guyana, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Thailand. There, it is the festival of lights that unites all the people of Indian origin living in that country. With Indian diaspora present in so many countries, sending gifts assumes great significance as it brings them together on specific occasions such as these.

http://www.indusmall.com

On The Holiday

On The Holiday